Air valve unit for pipe organs



July 1, 1941; c. E. GRANT AIR VALVE UNIT FOR PIPE ORGANS Filed April l, 1940 CCZ'. lmni INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS:

Patented July 1, 1941 UNETED AIR VALVE UNIT FOR PIPE ORGANS Casper E. Grant, Portsmouth, Va.

Application April 1, 1940, Serial No. 327,310

1 Claim. (11. S4-337) This invention relates to an air valve unit for pipe organs and it is designed more especially as an improvement upon the structure disclosed in Patent 1,891,409 issued to me on December 20,

In the patented structure it was found that the accurate assembly of the parts required the services of a highly skilled worker. Furthermore as the pull was exerted directly upon the valve per se, the energy required to actuate the valve under An object of the present invention is to greatly simplify the construction by providing each pipe with an independent valve unit including not only the valve but also its operating magnet, it being possible to assemble these unitswherever desired within the chest and to connect each pipe directly with its unit.

Another object is to provide a structure which enables the use of a single chest or case with several sets of actions.

Another object is to so position the valve rela- I tive to its actuating means that motion may be transmitted thereto through a lever whereby the amount of energy required to unseat the valve is reduced to the minimum.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a transverse section through a wind chest and showing a unit in elevation therein, a portion of the pipe with which it is assembled being also shown.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2, Figure l, the pipe being shown in elevation.

Figure 3 is a bottom'plan view of the unit.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference I designates a block formed preferably of an insulating material and this block has a head 2 at one end which is preferably circular, there being ears 3 extending beyond the margin of the head. Each of these ears can be formed with an opening 4.

An air passage 5 is extended through head 2 into block I and has its outer end preferably enlarged to provide a seat 6 for the end of the pipe P to be controlled. The other end of passage 5 has a port 1 opening through one side of the block.

A gasket 8 is extended around the head 2 and is seated against an annular flange 9 forming a part of the head 2 and from which the ears or extensions 3 project.

A solenoid is assembled with the block I and it has been indicated at I. The base ll of the solenoid is fastened to the block I by means of one or more screws or the like shown at l2 and interposed between this base and the block I so as to be gripped thereby, is a strip of insulating material, such as a tough fiber, indicated at l3.

Base l I has a fork 14 extending therefrom carrying a pivot or fulcrum pin IE on which is mounted a lever It. This lever has a short arm carrying a valve I! which can be of felt or other material meeting the requirements. The other or long arm of the lever is held normally pressed away from the solenoid by an interposed spring [8 so that valve I! thus is held normally pressed against the block I at a point where it will close the port I.

The core l9 of the solenoid has a rounded or beveled end as shown at 20 and this is supported close to the path of an arcuate finger 2| extending from the end of the long arm It. This finger 2i constitutes the armature of the magnet and when the valve [1 is seated as in Figure 1, the free end of the armature is supported close to the beveled end 20 of the core I9 but at one side of the edge thereof, so that the core thus is normally uncovered at its end.

As has been shown in the drawing, two wires 22 are seated within and extend through the insulating strip [3 and are also seated in and extended through the head 2 from which they are insulated, the insulation being indicated at 23. The wires are connected to the respective terminals of the solenoid as shown at 24 and have ends which project through the head 2 to points where they are readily accessible following installation of the unit as hereinafter explained.

In practice a wind chest of any desired proportions is provided, this chest being shown at C. Circular openings are formed in the top of the chest at the points where the pipes P are to be located, these openings being indicated at 0. Each opening is of a size sufficiently large to receive one of the heads 2 and as the maximum diameter of block I is less than that of the head 2, it will be obvious that this block, with the parts associated therewith, can be lowered into the opening so that threaded studs S, extending upwardly from the chest, can be received by the apertures 9. By then tightening nuts N on the studs, the gasket 8 will be clamped tightly on the chest C so that a tight fit will thus be provided between the chest and the unit at the opening 0. When the unit is thus inserted, the free ends of the wires 22 remain exposed outside of the head and to these the wires of the controlling circuit can be soldered or otherwise joined. After all of the units have thus been inserted into the chest the various pipes P can be seated on the respective heads so as to open into the passages 5. This completes the assembly and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it permits the parts to be easily placed together without requiring the services of a skilled mechanic in order to effect proper adjustments.

For the purpose of maintaining lubrication of the lever it, an oil-saturated felt 25 may be carried by the lever and extended therethrough for wiring contact with the pivot l5.

It will be understood that the valve H is normally closed. When magnet I6 is energized the armature 2i is attracted thereby so that spring i8 is thus placed under increased compression and valve l! is opened to allow air under pressure to escape into the port I and thence to the pipe P. In view of the fact that the armature is carried by the long arm of the lever, it will be obvious that the power reqired to open the valve is reduced in proportion to the mechanical advantage of the long arm of the lever over the short arm thereof. If desired this lever can be adjusted longitudinally relative to its fulcrum to meet different pressure conditions ,in the chest. In practice it has been found that a unit such as described will operate efiiciently to pull a V inch valve from a /4 inch. opening under a 4 inch wind pressure and with volts of direct electric current whereas, where a structiue such as shown in my patent heretofore referred to is employed, the best results obtainable under 4 inch wind pressure and with 10 volts of direct electric current and the same magnet, is to pull a inch valve from a 3 inch hole.

Obviously the units can be made in any sizes desired to meet the conditions under which they are to be used. A feature of prime importance to be considered, however, is the fact that the units are complete in themselves and can be installed readily in a wind chest simply by inserting them through openings in the tops of the chests and then fastening them in place.

It should be noted that the solenoid and the sounding element, which in the present case is the pipe P, are substantially coaxial, thereby insuring a very compact and well-balanced as sembly.

Importance is attached to the fact that the units covered by this invention can be employed universally wherever a decisive, long pull is required.

What is claimed is:

An air valve unit for the wind chest of a pipe organ, said unit including a pipe-supporting member for insertion into a wall of a vidnd chest and having a port, a base carried by said member, a fork extending from the base, a fulcrum pin carried by the fork, a lever carried by the pin and positioned within the fork, said lever having a short arm and a long arm, there being an aperture in the lever intersected by the pin, a valve on the short arm positioned to close the port, an armature on the long arm, an electromagnet having a core extended normally close to one end of the armature but outside of the path of movement thereof, a soft lubricant saturated maerial seated in the aperture in the lever and straddling and in wiping contact with the pin, said material being exposed through the lever, and a spring between and exerting a thrust against the magnet and the long arm of the lever thereby to normally maintain the armature in retracted position and the valve normally closed.

CASPER E. GRANT. 

